ANTOJOS Yolanda Antojos begins with Yolanda coming back for the first time in five years (page 3).Her family is waiting for her to return. So, her aunts and her talk for a while and they notice she is losing her native tongue they tell her “En espanol,” (Page 7).She tells them that she wants to go pick some guavas.They tell her it would be to dangerous for her to go and be driving around alone, she can get raped or kidnapped (Page 9). They have a cake ready for her and the children fight over who gets what piece (Pages 10-12).When she returns to the states, she stops at the cantina and an old woman comes out followed by a little boy.She asks if she has any guavas or where she can get some and the old woman tells the young boy to go show her where she can find some (Pages 14-16).Yolanda arrives and picks all the guavas she can carry and she is about to leave when she realizes she has a flat tire.She offers the boy a dollar to go back for help (Page 19).After a while two men arrive with machetes and Yolanda is scared; she is speechless.The two men mean no harm and they change the tire and she pays them (Pages 19-22).Yolanda goes on her way and finds the boy and he tells her he has been beaten because his “guardia,” thought he left her (Page 23). THE KISS Sofia The kiss begins with the girl’s father having his 70th birthday (Page 24).Sofia had has a four-month old boy.This is significant because it has been the first boy in two generations (Page 26).Then after a while the chapter goes into a flashback where it talks about Sofia and a previous boyfriend, who she traveled thousands of miles just to sleep with, they eventually broke up.She met Otto, who is now her husband.Her dad found dirty letters he had sent her.They got into an argument and she decided to move out for good.Her dad and her stopped talking for a long time.Otto turned out to be a famous chemist (Pages 29-32).They go back to present time where the father has somewhat forgiven them; he had agreed to have the party at Sofia’s house (Page 32).She had months of planning and it turned out to be a real fun time, with them drinking and playing games.They were playing a game where the father had to guess which daughter it was that was kissing him.It was going good except Sofia noticed that he never called her name so she gave him a kiss that he would know it was her she, “open-mouthed kiss in his ear.She ran her tongue in the whorls of his ear and nibbled the tip,” when asked who it was he got real mad and everyone knew that the party was over (Page 38). THE FOUR GIRLS Carla, Yolanda, Sandra, Sofia The four girls begins with the mom saying that all she had was girls, no boys.She had a color system with them; they had everything the same just different colors.She also had a different childhood story for each one of them (Pages 40-42).The mother and father also explain to their daughters that they did not always have money.The story for the oldest, Carla, was that she wanted a pair of red sneakers and though they could not afford them, they still got them.They had received them through someone they know who has a daughter but she was to big for the shoes so they gave them to her (Pages 43-45).Yolanda’s story was about how much she loved poetry as a young girl (Page 48).The mother begins to recite a poem from Edgar Allen Poe (Page 50).The story for Sandi was that she went on this crazy diet and she was checked to see if she had anything wrong with her mentally (Pages 50-52).Her diet was so extreme that the dean called her parents because she was too weak to do anything but read (Pages 53 and 54).
Pages 117-174
by Sarah Stucky
The mother and father of the girls are doing the best they can being immigrants from the Dominican Republic, but the culture shock that they experience puts them in a frenzy on how to do what is best to keep their daughters having the same morals they were brought up in. Consequently, the parents decide to send their daughters to a boarding school to avoid the culture shock they faced in America. Instead the complete opposite effect happens, the girls love the freedom they had. Eventually their parents find out that their daughters were losing their values, and send them back to the Dominican Republic for the summer. After returning to America, Sophia had been caught with a bag of marijuana, and was once again sent back to the Domincan Republic for the hope that she'd gain back her Dominican Republic morals. Her parents hope had turned out to be reality, when Sophia had been transformed into a Domincan woman. Unfortunately being a Domincan woman, she attracted a Domincan man; Manuel. Manuel was bad news from the beginning, and towards the end had left Sophia with the pressures of unprotected sex. Her mother not wanting Sophia's reputation to be ruined, has Sophia return to America.
By Wendy Benitez - Pgs. 174-232
Floor Show
Dr. Fanning had arranged a dinner for the family at a Spanish restaurant. The Family took a taxi to the restaurant. They got there before the Fanning’s did. At the restaurant Sandra started flirting with the busboy. Every time she would smile at him he would go fill her cup with water. Sandra ended up drinking so much water that she needed to go to the bathroom. Sandra’s mother did not want her to go to the bathroom, so her father decided to take her. Mrs. Fanning said that she also needed to go to the bathroom. Sandra saw that Mrs. Fanning kissed her father on the lips. She was so shocked at what she had just witnessed. When Sandra came out of the bathroom he asked her not to tell anyone about what had just happened. They returned to the table and Sandra did was watch Mrs. Fanning. When the dancers came out the four girls were really enjoying it especially Sandra. Mrs. Fanning was so drunk that she decided that she wanted to go dance with the dancers. Sandra was angry at Mrs. Fanning because not only had she kissed her father but she had ruined the magic that she felt while watching the dancers. When the dancers had finished one of them came up to the girls and asked them if they wanted a doll. Sofia wanted to one so bad but remembered what her mother had told her and said no. Sofia knew that her mother had told her not to be getting anything but her father owed her one for keeping his secret, so she told the dancer that she did want one. Her father agreed and when the other daughters saw that they also asked for one. Mrs. Fanning heard the girls and told her husbands to pay for them.
The Blood of the Conquistadores
Carlos, the father, saw that two men from the secret police were approaching. He ran as fast as he could trying not to get noticed. He went into a secret hideout that was in his wife’s closet. The men came into the house and confused Mundin as Carlos’s son. Laura, the mother, came home and got scared when she saw the black car. She told Chino, a servant to go tell Vic to come and get his tennis shoes, a code that meant that there was trouble with the secret police. Laura tried to keep the men calm by giving them beer and stuff to eat. When Vic got to the house he tells the men “The doctor has been granted a fellowship at a hospital in the United States, and he, Vic had just heard the family’s papers have received clearance from the head of Immigration.” When the men leave Laura tells her daughters to pack their clothes and take only one toy because they were leaving to the United States.
The Human Body
Each sister had a best friend cousin. Yolanda’s best friend was Mundin. At fist they would let them play but when she started getting older her aunts told her she couldn’t be best friends with him anymore. Her grandparents would go to the U.S. and bring them toys. One time when their aunt Mimi brought them toys they didn’t like them because they were educational. Yolanda got a book and Mundin got a toy called the Human Body and pink clay. Yolanda asked him if he would switch her for her book but he refused. Yolanda pretended to be interested in her book, but after actually looking at it she did. She was so distracted by her book that Mundin decided that he was going to trade with her. To get her attention he made a snake out of the clay.
ANTOJOS
Yolanda
Antojos begins with Yolanda coming back for the first time in five years (page 3). Her family is waiting for her to return. So, her aunts and her talk for a while and they notice she is losing her native tongue they tell her “En espanol,” (Page 7). She tells them that she wants to go pick some guavas. They tell her it would be to dangerous for her to go and be driving around alone, she can get raped or kidnapped (Page 9). They have a cake ready for her and the children fight over who gets what piece (Pages 10-12). When she returns to the states, she stops at the cantina and an old woman comes out followed by a little boy. She asks if she has any guavas or where she can get some and the old woman tells the young boy to go show her where she can find some (Pages 14-16). Yolanda arrives and picks all the guavas she can carry and she is about to leave when she realizes she has a flat tire. She offers the boy a dollar to go back for help (Page 19). After a while two men arrive with machetes and Yolanda is scared; she is speechless. The two men mean no harm and they change the tire and she pays them (Pages 19-22). Yolanda goes on her way and finds the boy and he tells her he has been beaten because his “guardia,” thought he left her (Page 23).
THE KISS
Sofia
The kiss begins with the girl’s father having his 70th birthday (Page 24). Sofia had has a four-month old boy. This is significant because it has been the first boy in two generations (Page 26). Then after a while the chapter goes into a flashback where it talks about Sofia and a previous boyfriend, who she traveled thousands of miles just to sleep with, they eventually broke up. She met Otto, who is now her husband. Her dad found dirty letters he had sent her. They got into an argument and she decided to move out for good. Her dad and her stopped talking for a long time. Otto turned out to be a famous chemist (Pages 29-32). They go back to present time where the father has somewhat forgiven them; he had agreed to have the party at Sofia’s house (Page 32). She had months of planning and it turned out to be a real fun time, with them drinking and playing games. They were playing a game where the father had to guess which daughter it was that was kissing him. It was going good except Sofia noticed that he never called her name so she gave him a kiss that he would know it was her she, “open-mouthed kiss in his ear. She ran her tongue in the whorls of his ear and nibbled the tip,” when asked who it was he got real mad and everyone knew that the party was over (Page 38).
THE FOUR GIRLS
Carla, Yolanda, Sandra, Sofia
The four girls begins with the mom saying that all she had was girls, no boys. She had a color system with them; they had everything the same just different colors. She also had a different childhood story for each one of them (Pages 40-42). The mother and father also explain to their daughters that they did not always have money. The story for the oldest, Carla, was that she wanted a pair of red sneakers and though they could not afford them, they still got them. They had received them through someone they know who has a daughter but she was to big for the shoes so they gave them to her (Pages 43-45). Yolanda’s story was about how much she loved poetry as a young girl (Page 48). The mother begins to recite a poem from Edgar Allen Poe (Page 50). The story for Sandi was that she went on this crazy diet and she was checked to see if she had anything wrong with her mentally (Pages 50-52). Her diet was so extreme that the dean called her parents because she was too weak to do anything but read (Pages 53 and 54).
Pages 117-174
by Sarah Stucky
The mother and father of the girls are doing the best they can being immigrants from the Dominican Republic, but the culture shock that they experience puts them in a frenzy on how to do what is best to keep their daughters having the same morals they were brought up in. Consequently, the parents decide to send their daughters to a boarding school to avoid the culture shock they faced in America. Instead the complete opposite effect happens, the girls love the freedom they had. Eventually their parents find out that their daughters were losing their values, and send them back to the Dominican Republic for the summer. After returning to America, Sophia had been caught with a bag of marijuana, and was once again sent back to the Domincan Republic for the hope that she'd gain back her Dominican Republic morals. Her parents hope had turned out to be reality, when Sophia had been transformed into a Domincan woman. Unfortunately being a Domincan woman, she attracted a Domincan man; Manuel. Manuel was bad news from the beginning, and towards the end had left Sophia with the pressures of unprotected sex. Her mother not wanting Sophia's reputation to be ruined, has Sophia return to America.
By Wendy Benitez - Pgs. 174-232
Floor Show
Dr. Fanning had arranged a dinner for the family at a Spanish restaurant. The Family took a taxi to the restaurant. They got there before the Fanning’s did. At the restaurant Sandra started flirting with the busboy. Every time she would smile at him he would go fill her cup with water. Sandra ended up drinking so much water that she needed to go to the bathroom. Sandra’s mother did not want her to go to the bathroom, so her father decided to take her. Mrs. Fanning said that she also needed to go to the bathroom. Sandra saw that Mrs. Fanning kissed her father on the lips. She was so shocked at what she had just witnessed. When Sandra came out of the bathroom he asked her not to tell anyone about what had just happened. They returned to the table and Sandra did was watch Mrs. Fanning. When the dancers came out the four girls were really enjoying it especially Sandra. Mrs. Fanning was so drunk that she decided that she wanted to go dance with the dancers. Sandra was angry at Mrs. Fanning because not only had she kissed her father but she had ruined the magic that she felt while watching the dancers. When the dancers had finished one of them came up to the girls and asked them if they wanted a doll. Sofia wanted to one so bad but remembered what her mother had told her and said no. Sofia knew that her mother had told her not to be getting anything but her father owed her one for keeping his secret, so she told the dancer that she did want one. Her father agreed and when the other daughters saw that they also asked for one. Mrs. Fanning heard the girls and told her husbands to pay for them.
The Blood of the Conquistadores
Carlos, the father, saw that two men from the secret police were approaching. He ran as fast as he could trying not to get noticed. He went into a secret hideout that was in his wife’s closet. The men came into the house and confused Mundin as Carlos’s son. Laura, the mother, came home and got scared when she saw the black car. She told Chino, a servant to go tell Vic to come and get his tennis shoes, a code that meant that there was trouble with the secret police. Laura tried to keep the men calm by giving them beer and stuff to eat. When Vic got to the house he tells the men “The doctor has been granted a fellowship at a hospital in the United States, and he, Vic had just heard the family’s papers have received clearance from the head of Immigration.” When the men leave Laura tells her daughters to pack their clothes and take only one toy because they were leaving to the United States.
The Human Body
Each sister had a best friend cousin. Yolanda’s best friend was Mundin. At fist they would let them play but when she started getting older her aunts told her she couldn’t be best friends with him anymore. Her grandparents would go to the U.S. and bring them toys. One time when their aunt Mimi brought them toys they didn’t like them because they were educational. Yolanda got a book and Mundin got a toy called the Human Body and pink clay. Yolanda asked him if he would switch her for her book but he refused. Yolanda pretended to be interested in her book, but after actually looking at it she did. She was so distracted by her book that Mundin decided that he was going to trade with her. To get her attention he made a snake out of the clay.